In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and affixed my official seal at the city of Albany, N. Y., this sixth day of January, A. D. 1880.

[L. S.]

JOSEPH B. CARR.

Secretary of State.

The members elect were called to order at eleven o'clock a. M., by Edward M. Johnson, Clerk of the last Assembly.

The proceedings were opened with prayer by Rev. Dr. Magee. The Hon. Joseph B. Carr, Secretary of State, administered to the members present the oath of office, prescribed by section one of article twelve of the Constitution of this State, and said oath was thereupon subscribed by the members.

Mr. C. S. Baker offered for the consideration of House a resolution in the words following:

Resolved, That this House do now proceed to the election of Speaker; that the roll of members be called by the Clerk, and that each member, as his name is called, rise in his place and openly name his choice for such office, and after the election of Speaker shall have been determined, we proceed to the election of Clerk in the same manner. The Clerk put the question whether the House would agree to said resolution, and it was determined in the affirmative.

The House then proceeded to the election of Speaker.

The Clerk called the roll, whereupon each member, as his name was called, rose in his place and nominated as follows:

George H. Sharpe having received a majority of all the votes given, the Clerk declared he was duly elected Speaker of the Assembly.

The Clerk appointed Messrs. Alvord and Shanley to conduct the Speaker elect to the chair.

On taking the chair he addressed the House as follows:

Gentlemen of the Assembly:

For the honor of being selected as your Speaker, I offer you my sincere thanks. I must be sensible of the frank spirit and the chivalrous feeling through which honorable members from different sections, and with differing preferences, reached one conclusion. I see before me tried and honored legislators; and I thoroughly feel the indulgent sentiment through which alone your choice could have fallen upon me. The result reached is an evidence of the generosity of the Assembly.

This position imposes high public obligations, and in the present instance there is added a keen sense of the best endeavor which is due in return for your confidence.

In a legislative body the minority has rights and the majority has responsibilities. To protect one, and to execute the will of the other are equally the duties of the officer who presides over both. Asking your support and forbearance, it will be my aim to administer the commission given me with fairness and impartiality, and with a constant remembrance of the higher allegiance we owe to the people who sent us here. We meet at an important time and under auspicious circumstances.

There is neither here nor in co-ordinate branches such a division as might serve as a check; while on the other hand there is unity and strength, which, rightly used, confer the largest power of good. Our responsibilities are commensurate with the degree of public trust. Recent constitutional amendments have greatly reduced the volume of legislation. The wholesome changes, and a quickened sense of public demands have raised the legislative standard. To maintain this character will exact vigilance and fidelity. To advance it still farther, which should be our aim, will require our highest purpose and best endeavor. Let us be prompt in action, faithful and intelligent in our response to public sentiment, and let us have a short session.

It is not for me to indicate your policy. But it is for all of us to remember that, whatever our professions, our good faith can only be attested by practical action. We shall be judged not by what we say, but by what we do. The majority appealed to the people upon clear principles, and definite public objects, and we shall be justly held accountable for the manner in which the pledges are kept.

Relief from public burdens, and the protection of public rights should be the first care of public representatives. After a long period of financial derangement the country is re-established upon the enduring basis of specie payments, and it is expected that the public expenditures shall be made to conform to this standaad.

Local burdens are most oppressive, and the people demand the application of the pruning-knife, wherever it is practicable.

There are other questions upon which a distinct appeal was made, and upon which the people made distinct declaration.

Recognized inequalities and evasions of taxation demand effective measures for an impartial distribution of its weight.

The relations of the public to corporations require careful consideration, and the great constituency we represent is entitled to the shield of legislative protection against an invasion of its rights, or unjust discriminations.

The public works and institutions of the State will be brought to our attention, and the guide of action should be the plain rule of .honest, efficient and frugal management.

Recent events, which have made a profound impression, have given new significance to the truth that the most vital safeguards of a free government are laws which secure the purity of the ballot-box and the sacred observance of the popular will.

In other lands free institutions have been slain by the blow of the midnight usurper; and in our own we see the danger that they may be stifled by fraud, or by the schemes of treacherous rulers or officers. New York has not in the past bc n exempt from such peril, and there are localities where the elections are conducted with fraud, or their true results are boldly overthrown. Our laws need more stringent provisions, and we can render no greater service than by enacting measures which will make every ballot cast, and every ballot counted, the honest expression of a freeman's will.

Gentlemen, our service here at the longest will be brief, but the consequences may be enduring. One of our associates of last year, loved and honored, and with rainbow promises arching over his young manhood, has answered his last roll call.

Let us so act as to secure the only lasting reward for our service in the approval of conscience, and with a hearty wish for the health, happiness and success of each, I await your further direction.

Mr. Ellis, having been absent during the administration of the oath of office by the Secretary of State, appeared before the bar of the House, and the oath of office was administered to him by the Speaker. The House, in like manner, then proceeded to the election of Clerk of the Assembly, with the following result: